1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to cleaning appliances. More specifically, the invention is drawn to a brush for a conventional floor-cleaning machine, which brush allows a user to clean or polish a floor and baseboard simultaneously.
2. Description of the Related Art
Separate procedures have been conventionally required to clean and/or polish floors and baseboards. Typically, a cleaning machine (buffer) is employed for the floor. The buffer utilizes a rotary driven brush and steel wool pads for efficient floor cleaning and polishing. Baseboards however, have been have been cleaned manually or with expensive and relatively complicated machines. Thus, cleaning both floors and baseboards has required a relatively large investment in man-hours or the acquisition of expensive machines. Both of these solutions are expensive. It is obvious that the art would welcome an inexpensive adjunct to the popular buffing machine, which adjunct would effectively clean and/or polish floors and baseboards simultaneously.
The related art is rife with alleged solutions to the above-discussed problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,533,120 (De Mercado), U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,139 (Lewis) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,912 (Hall) show machines for cleaning/polishing baseboards and floors simultaneously. All the machines employ plural rotary driven brushes that require complicated and expensive operating systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,715,772 (Downing et al.) discloses a buffing machine having an attachment that converts rotary motion to reciprocal motion. He attachment includes a rubbing surface that can clean baseboards. As in the above-cited patents, the instant attachment represents a relatively costly and complicated addition to the conventional buffer.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,357,141 (Annis, Jr.) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,872 (Barber) are drawn to machines for treating floors and baseboards. Both machines require specialized brushes that cannot be used with conventional buffers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,403 (Scharf) shows a floor brush having bristles around the periphery thereof for cleaning baseboards. The bristles are not continuous and are therefore less efficient than the arrangement contemplated in the present invention. Also there is no provision to include a buffing pad on the periphery.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to disclose a brush for simultaneous cleaning or polishing floors and baseboards as will be subsequently described and claimed the instant invention.